Workers on Thursday cleaned out the portable toilet at the St. Clair Shores boat launch where the body of a homeless man was found last week. It is now taped shut. MITCH HOTTS -- THE MACOMB DAILY

Gary Szarek went from living in a 2,000-square-foot house in Grosse Pointe Woods to becoming homeless and seeking shelter in a portable restroom at a municipal boat ramp near Lake St. Clair.

His body was found April 19 in the locked toilet in St. Clair Shores when the city’s parks and recreation staff went to open the facility for the spring season. On Thursday, police formally identified him.

“It’s very sad, it’s just terrible for someone to die alone in that fashion,” said John Johnson, chairman of the Macomb County Emergency Rotating Shelter (MCREST) team, which provides temporary shelter for the homeless. “There is always some place safe to stay in Macomb County if we can get the word out to people such as him.”

St. Clair Shores Detective Margaret Eidt was able to identity the 63-year-old Szarek through cellphone records that showed he was living in Grosse Pointe Woods and fingerprints that indicated he once had gone through an arrest in Grosse Pointe Woods in a civil matter.

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Eidt said a receipt was found in his pants that showed he had a Kroger Plus card. She obtained a subpoena that was served on Kroger which showed the card was issued to someone with a similar name and then used Michigan Secretary of State files to obtain an address.

“The house he lived in went into foreclosure and Mr. Szarek had been homeless since 2010,” Eidt said.

Szarek lived with his father, Steve, in a house on Elford Court in Grosse Pointe Woods. His father died several years ago, leaving the property to his son, who lived alone.

However, Gary Szarek was unable to keep up with the tax payments and the property was foreclosed in 2010, according to city assessing records. Neighbors said he refused to leave and had to be forcibly removed by police officers.

“I’ll never forget it, the police had to go in there to evict him and they found him hiding in his mother’s bedroom, holding up his parents’ wedding picture,” said Kirk Carey, who lives next door on Elford Court.

Neighbors said described Szarek’s behavior as “bizarre,” and suspect he may have had psychological issues.

“He would only cut the grass after dark in the nighttime,” said Carey, an attorney. “He always rode ride a bike — I don’t think he had a car. The house was full of trash. It was very sad, actually.”